'GPS' protein guides neurons to brain's language centre

Getting from point A to point B is crucial for newly formed neurons. If they do not make it to their correct destination from their place of origin, the brain does not develop as it should, potentially leading to conditions such as autism and schizophrenia.

Glial cells often act as a guideway for nascent neurons. But Ulrich Müeller and colleagues at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, have discovered that they are not the main guides responsible for directing new neurons to the neocortex, a part of the brain that controls language and movement.

The researchers watched fluorescing neurons (shown) in real time and found that a protein called reelin instead helps guide new neurons to this region.